For most of the history of cinematography, motion pictures were shot in physical sets, such as in outdoor locations or on specially prepared movie stages. The cameras used for such footage included the conventional movie cameras that chemically registered image contents on celluloid film, as well as modern cameras that use discs or other re-recordable digital media.
In such moviemaking sessions, the director sometimes uses a director's viewfinder as help in analyzing and evaluating how to best shoot a scene to accomplish the desired effect. Essentially, a director's viewfinder is an optical device that allows the director to view the scene as it would appear through the camera's lens. For example, this effect is accomplished by choosing the settings on the viewfinder according to those of the camera currently being evaluated. Thus, the director's viewfinder can give an early indication of whether the chosen lens, camera angle, aperture, zoom and/or aspect ratio will produce images that match the director's expectations.